US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Trump administration will appeal court injunctions affecting five offshore wind farms currently under construction.
Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Burgum confirmed the government intends to challenge the rulings that blocked enforcement of a December order halting work on several major projects.
Those projects include Ørsted’s 924MW Sunrise Wind and 704MW Revolution Wind, Dominion Energy’s 2.6GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Equinor’s 810MW Empire Wind, and the 806MW Vineyard Wind 1 joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Iberdrola.
“Absolutely, we are,” Burgum said when asked whether the administration would appeal.
“I’m sure as we get into court and have sessions and share classified information, there will be further discussions on this,” he added.
Burgum rejected suggestions the move was politically motivated, saying: “People are saying that ‘oh, this is some ideological attack on offshore wind’. No, this is a real genuine concern,” again raising concerns about potential drone threats linked to radar interference from turbines.
Work has since restarted on all five projects that had been halted by the December order.
